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FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT PNC PARK - PAGE 3

SportsDirect Inc. Preview: Twins at Pirates An off day Monday might have been a bit more welcome for the Minnesota Twins than the Pittsburgh Pirates, as the teams begin a three-game interleague series at PNC Park. The Twins are coming off a 15-inning win over Milwaukee in which a 42-minute rain delay in the 11th inning made for a marathon series finale. Minnesota used seven pitchers, so the day off should help it get its bullpen back in order. The Pirates hope their hot hitting continues after the off day. They scored nine runs in consecutive games to take two of three from Cleveland.

The Sports Xchange MLB suspends Kontos, Bochy for actions vs. Pirates San Francisco Giants pitcher George Kontos will still have to serve a three-game suspension, even though he was optioned to Triple-A Fresno on Wednesday. Kontos will have to serve the suspension and pay an undisclosed fine when he is brought back to the major league club. The penalty is for intentionally throwing at the Pittsburgh Pirates' Andrew McCutchen in the eighth inning of Tuesday's game at PNC Park.

While the Cubs' 11th-inning collapses over the last two days at PNC Park in Pittsburgh were disturbing, almost nothing could top what happened to the Cubs in an April, 21, 1991, game at Three Rivers Stadium. With the game tied at 7-7, the Cubs took the lead on Doug Dascenzo's two-out bases-loaded single, which scored Jerome Walton. Then Andre Dawson clubbed an opposite-field grand slam to cap off a five-run inning and give the Cubs a 12-7 lead. However, the tandem of Heathcliff Slocumb and Mike Bielecki retired just one batter in the bottom half (an Andy Van Slyke sacrifice fly)

The Sports Xchange Soaring Pirates are dreaming big The Pirates are touching heights unseen since Barry Bonds' final year in Pittsburgh, 1992, also the franchise's most recent winning season. And they'd love dearly to keep the story going this time. Their record is 48-37, a stunning 11 games over the .500 mark they haven't achieved in 20 years. They're atop the National League Central. They've won 28 of the past 41 games. Can it possibly last? "The days of us looking down at the ground after a tough loss or falling apart with a three-game losing streak ... that's over," second baseman and Pittsburgh native Neil Walker said after his five hits, including a monster home run, powered a 13-2 blowout of the San Francisco Giants on Sunday at PNC Park.

CINCINNATI -- The Chicago Cubs' tentative 2014 regular season schedule features an interleague home-and-home series against the New York Yankees as well as a trip to Fenway Park to play the Boston Red Sox on June 30-July 2. The Cubs will open the 2014 season on Monday, March 31, at Pittsburgh, marking the second consecutive time they will open the season at PNC Park. The Cubs' home opener is scheduled for Friday, April 4, against Philadelphia. The Cubs will travel to Yankee Stadium to play the Yankees on April 15-16, with the Yankees visiting Wrigley Field on May 20-21.

The Sports Xchange By John Perrotto, The Sports Xchange Reds 6, Pirates 0 PITTSBURGH - Things went a whole lot better for Johnny Cueto than it did the last two times he took the mound at PNC Park. The Reds right-hander allowed only one hit in eight innings Friday night to lead Cincinnati to a 6-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cueto's final regular-season start of 2012 came at Pittsburgh and he missed a chance at a 20-win season when he did not factor in the decision.

The Rob Mackowiak show makes its way to Wrigley Field this weekend, with sellout crowds expected to watch the Pittsburgh Pirates slugger face Mark Prior, Carlos Zambrano and Greg Maddux. The fact that the games were sold out before anyone knew how to pronounce Mackowiak's name is irrelevant. Mackowiak almost single-handedly took down the Cubs in a doubleheader last Friday in Pittsburgh. "I'm sure I'll get the heck booed out of me," he said Thursday from PNC Park. Mackowiak's story is the stuff of made-for-TV movies.